Daily Reflection – 11/20/2020
The very fact that this is the only incident in which Jesus Christ physically reacted in anger should underscore His message.
Jesus honors His Father’s house of prayer by cleansing it of unholy practices. Here, we see Jesus’ startling and swift action in cleansing the temple of those who were using it to exploit the worshipers of God. His reaction was emotional and harsh. With anger on his face and a whip on his hands, he drove the sellers and moneychangers out of the temple. Surely, it is unthinkable for many of us to see Jesus this way, which is far from what we know of him as forgiving, understanding and compassionate with the people around him. But can we blame him?
This passage reveals not only something that Jesus did long ago, it also reveals something that He desires to do today. He desires to root out all evil within the temple of our world, and He desires to root out all evil in the temple of our hearts. Each soul is a temple that should be set aside solely for the glory of God and the fulfillment of His holy will.
Our soul is a temple may be unusual terminology but it speaks to us about who we are. Our soul, our being, our life came from God, our Father. He created each of us to do good, to build bridges, to be a beacon of His light. More profoundly, each person who prays with a sincere devotion becomes the temple or house of God.
But when the exterior act of attending a church to enter into communion with Him is subverted by the interior condition of our soul, our prayer becomes a hypocrisy.
The Lord wants to share his holiness with us. If we approach God’s word with a humble attentive heart and with a willingness to be taught by the Lord, then we are in a good place to allow God’s word to change and transform us in the likeness of Christ. The Lord wants to teach us his ways so that we may grow in holiness.
What is our answer? Are we willing to allow Jesus, our King, to reach into the broken places of soul? To see the places of regret, of shame, of hopelessness? . The places where we, blocked you off from us? Are we willing to allow Jesus to march into those places today and turn over some tables?
Jesus desires to bring about purification in many ways. He desires to purify the Church as a whole, each society and community, your own family and especially your own soul. Do not be afraid to let Jesus’ holy wrath work its power. Pray for purification on all levels and let Jesus accomplish His mission.
“Lord Jesus, you open wide the door of your house and you bid us to enter confidently that we may worship you in spirit and truth. Help me to draw near to you with gratitude and joy for your great mercy. May I always revere your word and give you acceptable praise and worship.”
Jesus is still teaching us up to this very minute. Teaching us how to properly live our lives, teaching us that life is not so much of material and intellectual accumulation. For Jesus life is service, life is humility, life is sacrifice, life is about simplicity.
Is there a template on how to properly live our life? Of course, there is and it’s no other than the life of Jesus himself. To live according to His life is the perfect life template, but would we dare to live the life of Jesus? Let us teach the life of Jesus by our way of life.
